Air abrasion technology is used in a variety of applications where there is a need to cut, drill, clean, or to add texture to various substrates. When a substrate is fragile, however, only a gentle process, such as air abrasion, can be considered.
The technique of air abrasion utilizes fine abrasives, such as aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, bicarbonate of soda, crushed nut shells, glass beads and ground plastics, which are introduced into a compressed gas stream, such as air, and directed through a nozzle to the surface to be abraded.
Currently, air abrasion technology is used in a wide range of industries, such as in the manufacture of semiconductor devices and electronic components, as well as in the aerospace and automotive industries. Air abrasion is also used by artists for engraving in glass or other brittle, fragile materials. Museums utilize air abrasion in art and artifact restoration. Paleontologists use air abrasion for uncovering fossils. Air abrasion technology is also used in the medical treatment field. For example, dermatologists use air abrasion to abrade the skin so as to encourage new skin growth. Dentists also use air abrasion for cleaning and texturing teeth, and for cavity detection and preparation.
In applying the technique of air abrasion, a nozzle assembly, usually attached to a handpiece, is required for directing the air and abrasive stream to the surface to be abraded.
The prior art describes a handpiece for use in air abrasion in which the nozzle can be unscrewed from the handle portion to permit changing the nozzle head during an application. However, during certain applications, such as in dentistry, the act of changing nozzles by the steps of unscrewing, disassembling, rescrewing and reassembling is very cumbersome and inconvenient. In fact, the difficulty of changing nozzle heads during an application actually may impede the use of the appropriately shaped and/or sized nozzle for the particular task at hand.
In the art of air abrasion, as it is applied to dental care, an ideal air abrasion unit was described as having eighteen ideal characteristics. An ideal characteristic that was found to be absent in the air abrasion art was an air abrasion handpiece with a nozzle that is capable of disconnecting quickly. See www.cranews.com/newsletter/highlights/97-12/abrasive/ideal. Another desirable feature for an air abrasion unit used in dental care is that the handpiece should be sterilizable and constructed to withstand certain sterilization procedures, such as autoclaving. Id.
Thus, there is a recognized need in the art of air abrasion for a handpiece equipped with nozzles that are capable of quickly disconnecting and reconnecting to the handle portion of an air abrasion device during an application. Moreover, for certain applications involving air abrasion, it is desirable that a handpiece be able to withstand sterilization procedures. If these needs could be met, the user of air abrasion equipment would be better able to accomplish a particular task involving air abrasion.